DX LISTENING DIGEST 2-166, October 26, 2002 edited by Glenn Hauser, wghauser@hotmail.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits HTML version of this issue will be posted afterwards at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd02.html For restrixions and searchable 2002 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn WORLD OF RADIO 1153: WWCR: Sun 0230 5070, Sun 0630 3210, Wed 1030 9475 RFPI: Sun 0600, Mon 0030, 0630, Wed 0100, 0700 on 7445 and/or 15038 WBCQ: Mon 0515 after time change, 7415 WRN: Sat 0800 rest of world; Sun 0530 Europe; Sun 1500 North America ONDEMAND http://www.wrn.org/ondemand/worldofradio.html (DOWNLOAD) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1153.rm (STREAM) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1153.ram (SUMMARY) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1153.html ** ALASKA. KNOM-780 DX Test: Nary a peep here through 4:40 am EDT - just KKOH and an occasional burst of WBBM (Pete Taylor, Tacoma, WA, Oct 26, IRCA via DXLD) Managed to rouse long enough around 0830 UT to confirm WBBM dominating the channel as usual. Not really any chance here, except for a beverage set up especially for the occasion, and far more favorable propagation conditions. But appreciate KNOM trying. Hoping it made it at least to Australia, where the test was publicized, or New Zealand. I wonder how often (ever?) it is heard DU (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not sure if I may have heard KNOM test or not, there was a station coming in in KKOH's null, was very weak, but heard some music intertwined, no tones or anything from 1:10 AM tune-in until 1:50 AM, but at 1:55 AM, PDT, heard what I **thought** were 2 sets of code IDs, but again too weak to make out, may have just been splash from KABC- 790. **May** have also heard tone about 1:58 AM, PDT, but again, signal very, very weak. Station could have been KAZM Sedona, AZ. which I occasionally get at night. Kevin: is KAZM 24 hr NSP? Pat Martin reports conditions were very auroral (I noticed same, KUET- 710 AZ. Was coming in fairly well here)... Don't know... Heard KNOM back in 80's on RS here anyway, verified at that time so not needed (Robert Wien [somewhere in CA?], Oct 26, IRCA via DXLD) I have heard KAZM after midnight before. No KNOM noted here but I did not sit on 780 all the time as KNOM was logged and QSL'd in the 80s and I hear it every once in a great while. 73s, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, Oct 26, ibid.) Test not heard here. Just growling static and a trace of KAZM underneath the endless parade of BLITHERING IDIOTS on that moronic "Coast to Coast" show on KKOH... 73, (Tim Hall, Chula Vista, CA, ibid.) ** ALBANIA. L'information parue dans le Radiopanorama du Club Amitié Radio et concernant la fermeture de Radio Tirana semble erronée. La station a été entendue récemment dans son émission en langue française. Néanmoins, les transmissions sont très irrégulières, probablement à cause du manque d'électricité dans le pays (Informations de Jean-Michel Aubier Oct 26 via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Gold Coast Amateur Radio Society Commemorating Pacific Cable --- The Society will be managing the amateur radio activities at Southport - the club callsign is VK4WIG. Best mode of contact is IRLP node 640. Club Nets are 3605 kHz LSB Wednesdays 0930 UT and 14200 kHz USB Wednesdays 1000. We have organised a special event callsign VI4CC to be in use from the 21st to 31st of October 2002. (from http://www.qsl.net/vk4wig/ ) The site says the actual celebrations get under way at 10am AEST Thursday (Wade Smith, New Brunswick, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA. Now the cat is out of the bag: Intermedia will continue with Vera Bock, already responsible for the French-language Flash des Ondes. Producer Marianne Veith will stay with the programme, together they will now do their best. You might have a look at http://roi.orf.at/intermedia/im_aktuell.html --- 33 years ago Wolf Harranth said, he will stop in tails and with top-hat, and that's the result (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) There`s a link ondemand to the current show, and I just listened to it. Best of luck to Wolf, who sounded a bit broken up (gh, DXLD) ** BELGIUM. Bob Thomas, CT, Oct 22, also copied RVI`s announced new English schedule and also got 7645 at 1830 and 2030, tho the printed sked shows 7465, which seems more likely, so we must assume RVI has actually been announcing the wrong frequency (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BURMA [non]. Those looking for Burma on 5985v now are in for a rude surprise (gh, DXLD) 5985 registered B-02 RCI Chinese: 1430-1459 KIM 9810 250 290; YAM 9560 300 270; YAM [Japan] 5985 100 290 (BC-DX Oct 26 via DXLD) ** CANADA. From RCI`s new B-02 printed schedule, to Americas; all following a newscast, source CBC or RCI not specified: 0200-0259 6040 9755 11725 UT Wed-Sun CANADA TODAY plus: Wed MEDIA ZONE Thu THE MAILBAG Fri SPOTLIGHT Sat BUSINESS SENSE Sun CANADA IN THE WORLD UT Mon BUSINESS SENSE, CANADA IN THE WORLD [repeats] Tue THE MAILBAG, SPOTLIGHT [repeats] [NOTE: we suspect the above are actually one UT day earlier, as on the European service below, the span is M-F, and one would expect the features to be on the next UT day, not the day after the next UT day! The programs at 2100 and 0200 are RCI produxions; the rest from CBC] 1300-1559:30 9515 13655 17710 [evidently printed before CBC finalised new programming, still showing THIS MORNING M-F and other features] 1400-1659:30 9515 13655 17710 Sat THE HOUSE, VINYL CAFE, QUIRKS & QUARKS Sun THE SUNDAY EDITION 2300-2329:30 5960 9590 11865 M-F THE WORLD AT SIX S,S THE WORLD THIS WEEKEND 2330-2459:30 5960 9590 M-F AS IT HAPPENS Wed DISPATCHES [actually UT Thu 0030, with AIH one hour] Sat MADLY OFF IN ALL DIREXIONS, QUIRKS & QUARKS [UT Sun the latter] Sun THE INSIDE TRACK, GLOBAL VILLAGE [UT Mon the latter] All the above would be via Sackville, tho sites not specified. Following to Europe, Africa, Middle-East includes one or two Sackville frequencies amongst the others, a defacto North American service: 2100-2159 5850 5995 7245 7425 9770 9805 13650 M-F CANADA TODAY, plus: Mon MEDIA ZONE Tue THE MAILBAG Wed SPOTLIGHT Thu BUSINESS SENSE Fri CANADA IN THE WORLD Sat BUSINESS SENSE, CANADA IN THE WORLD [repeats] Sun THE MAILBAG, SPOTLIGHT [repeats] 2200-2229:30 5850 6045 9770 9805 M-F WORLD AT SIX Sat MEDIA ZONE Sun CANADA IN THE WORLD There are four other English hours, to SE Asia, China, India, all via relays and not well heard, or heard at all, in North America (Glenn Hauser, Oct 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Re Toronto Star article on Sounds Like Canada: My reaction: What's the plan? Apparently, there is none except to shake things up and, for the most part, just hope for the best. There's nothing wrong with the service seeking to become more inclusive; but, quite frankly, this could have been done within the prevailing format. It was certainly flexible enough to accommodate a widening or shift in focus. The quote in the article that most resonated with me was this: "...you can't do everything with every single program. You need to have a show about something in particular; otherwise, it becomes a bit of a mess." That's what "Sounds Like Canada" sounds like to me at this point...a bit of a mess. There is no flow to the program whatsoever. On the contrary, it seems to be a series of disjointed parts. If this is intentional, it's a very bad idea. If it's not intentional, then there's some fixing that needs to be done. As far as Ms. Rogers is concerned, she is being woefully underused and misused in this "format", if indeed there is one discernible in there. One cannot imagine Peter Gzowski as the host of "Sounds Like Canada" as it appears to be currently formulated and Ms. Rogers is arguably the network's equivalent of Gzowski today. Taking her personality out of the morning program renders it a bland, almost rudderless enterprise. I guess we can always hope that the program will find its feet as time goes on. If it does, I bet that, in the end, it sounds very much like the program it just replaced (John Figliozzi, NY, swprograms via DXLD) No matter what they (CBC admin) change, plan or no plan, they are still left with three problems: the nature of public broadcasting, engineering challenges and marketing. Radio One is an intense service compared with commercial radio. It requires your full attention for it to work properly. Given that most of us (age 18-54, let's say) are working or studying during the day, they can't expect us to devote our full attention to This Morning or Sounds Like Canada or whatever they will be airing. If you're in class, you better not have your radio on or you're flunking right out of school; if you're at work, you better be on the ball with your job or you'll be fired. That cuts out a lot of potential listeners. But even if we were all available to listen, many people (around here, anyway) are hard pressed to know where CBC Radio One is (and many people are still convinced it's on the AM band, which it isn't). And while their "new" FM frequency is great for the built-up areas downtown, it is reported to have horrible reception in the NDG neighbourhood of Montreal (lots of English-speakers there, but they are in a shadowy patch when it comes to FM reception), and on the western tip of the island and off the island toward the west. These three regions did not benefit at all from a power boost/pattern change last year. And on top of that, CBC Radio almost only advertises in national daily newspapers, both of which do pityfully in this market. They also do cross-promotion on CBC Television -- which itself draws fewer viewers that CBC Radio One does listeners. That, briefly (!), is a summary of what I think are the challenges CBC faces, no matter what they may be experimenting with (Ricky Leong, QC, ibid.) ** CANADA. CANADA POST TO RECOGNIZE FATHERS OF THE WIRELESS AGE OTTAWA, Oct. 21 /CNW/ - Two significant events in the history of communications technology will be honoured this month with new stamps. On October 31, 1902, the Pacific Cable was opened and just six weeks later, on December 15, Guglielmo Marconi sent the first radio message across the Atlantic Ocean. The Honourable André Ouellet, President and Chief Executive Officer of Canada Post, announces that Canada Post will issue two 48 cents stamps honouring these important events in Canadian history on October 31st. A total of five million stamps will be available for sale in post offices across the country. The stamps were designed by Susan Warr of Halifax, who has previously worked on the Cabot (1997) and L'Anse aux Meadows (1999) stamps for Canada Post. The predominant images on the stamps are portraits of the two inventors: Fleming on the left (or Pacific-side) stamp and Marconi on the right (Atlantic side). Between the two men is a stylized map of Canada, created by designer Bonnie Ross. Ms. Ross previously designed the Tall Ships stamps in 2000 and co-designed Cabot stamp in 1997. Also featured on the stamp is the Cable Ship Iris. Cable ships like the Iris were used during the Pacific Cable project to lay, repair and maintain cables on the ocean floor during and after the completion of the line. Stamps and Official First Day covers will be available at participating post offices, or by mail order from the National Philatelic Centre. From Canada and the USA call toll-free: 1-800-565- 4362 and from other countries call: (902) 863-6550. Stamp information may also be found in the Newsroom section of Canada Post's Web site. Follow the links off the homepage at: http://www.canadapost.ca (From Canada Newswire) Picture of the stamps http://www.canadapost.ca/business/corporate/about/newsroom/pr/bin/images/marconi.jpg If someone wants to order by phone these are the product numbers/prices. 403518101 $0.96 for the pair of stamps 403518107 $7.68 full pane of stamps (8 pairs) 403518126 $1.96 first day cover 341594 $2.00 Marconi Commemorative Envelope showing his station with stamp postmarked Glace Bay. Issue date Dec 15. The VC2C callsign in this weekend`s CQWW Contest commemorates the Pacific Cable anniversary http://www.qsl.net/teamzone2/ Pacific Submarine Cable site (including some radio links) http://www.pacific-cable.org/ A number of events taking place throughout the Pacific this Thursday October 31. Possibly other amateur radio special event stations also. See AUSTRALIA (Wade Smith, New Brunswick, Oct 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. With President Jiang visiting the United States, Radio Free Asia is engaging in an op-ed campaign against Chinese jamming and website blocking. This Washington Post op-ed by RFA president Richard Richter comes a day after one by RFA VP Dan Southerland in the Christian Science Monitor (Kim Elliott, DX LISTENING DIGEST) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14316-2002Oct24.html CHINA WALLS OUT THE NEWS By Richard Richter, Friday, October 25, 2002; Page A29 The media are full of news these days about China embracing reform and emerging as a world player. But don't think for an instant that Beijing has stopped practicing what Thomas Jefferson called "tyranny over the minds of men." To the contrary, Chinese authorities are tightening control over the news and information available to the 1.2 billion people they govern. They're working harder to block the Internet and to jam incoming broadcasts by Radio Free Asia (RFA) and the Voice of America (VOA). Chinese citizens now enjoy more freedom to make money, but they still risk detention for voicing dissent -- or seeking information that doesn't toe the official line. It's an antiquated policy that harms China, damages its relations with the United States and undermines our fight against terrorism. Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who meets today in Texas with President Bush, should let ideas flow freely and halt China's jamming of U.S. international broadcasts. Moreover, American broadcasters should be allowed to cover China just as their Chinese counterparts cover the United States. Here are the facts: Chinese authorities are not only blocking Internet search engines and Web sites that might turn up information critical of the government. They're also redoubling efforts to jam international radio, a powerful medium in countries such as China, where only about 4 percent of the people have Internet access. Engineers who monitor these transmissions say Chinese jamming has grown more sophisticated and more frequent. The International Broadcasting Bureau spends millions of dollars annually to transmit RFA and VOA programming to China. Several simultaneous transmissions on different frequencies are required for each program to overcome jamming. Throughout China, listeners have to work hard to hear RFA and VOA signals, and sometimes they can't hear us at all. Fortunately, there are ways around jamming, and in China -- as in Eastern Europe during the Cold War -- determined listeners often find them. In another maneuver aimed at thwarting free news dissemination, China has also barred RFA from stationing reporters on its territory and rebuffed the VOA's bid to increase the size of its tiny China-based staff. In contrast, China's state-run media are permitted to broadcast freely in the United States, with at least 40 journalists employed by the Chinese government working here. Recent research also documents the Chinese government's growing influence over Chinese-language media in this country. It's a fundamentally lopsided arrangement that denies the Chinese people access to news and views from the outside world -- which they want and which Americans need them to hear. We can't allow the world's most populous nation to be kept in the dark about who we are, what we stand for, and why they should be on our side in the fight against terror. It matters what 1.2 billion people think. Chinese listeners tell us every day that they know that their own media are withholding news and that U.S. international broadcasting fills a major part of that void. When a U.S. reconnaissance plane and a Chinese jet fighter collided off China's coast last year, RFA was flooded with phone calls from China asking for details and thanking us for presenting both sides of the story. Some callers, it's true, criticized the United States, and we let them speak. But most knew that they weren't getting the whole story from their domestic media -- and that they were entitled to more. And they were impressed that congressionally funded RFA would broadcast criticism of the U.S. government. In the days after Sept. 11, 2001, RFA reporters interviewed scores of Asian nationals whose lives were touched by the terror attacks. From Brooklyn to Beijing, Tokyo to Tashkent, bereaved families mourned irreparable losses. Our reporters told their stories -- showing China, and the world, that those diabolical attacks took aim not just at the United States but at all humanity. "The whole world should condemn the attacks, not just NATO members," said one RFA listener from northern China. "The whole world should pitch in and try to apprehend the culprits. Unless we unite on this, any country might someday face the same fate." The Chinese people are entitled to more news, more information and a more open view of the world than their own media allow them. President Jiang should make sure they get it. The writer is president of Radio Free Asia. © 2002 The Washington Post Company (via Kim Elliott, and Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** CHINA. CHINA SHOULD LOWER THE BROADCAST SCREEN, by Edward Kaufman China entered the World Trade Organization earlier this year amid much fanfare that the move signaled a new era of openness and free exchange in the world's most populous nation. Yet while pursuing more interaction in the global marketplace, the Chinese government is trying harder than ever to isolate its people, cut off the free flow of information, and deny them access to accurate, reliable and credible news. It's a losing strategy that hurts the Chinese people, hurts China and hurts the United States. Media freedom, including jamming, should be on Chinese President Jiang Zemin's agenda following his just-concluded visit to the United States. As a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees all U.S. international broadcasting, I've seen first-hand what China does to prevent its citizens from hearing the top-notch services of the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia Virtually all VOA and RFA shortwave radio transmissions directed at China are jammed in some fashion. To overcome jamming - and ensure the Chinese can hear balanced news and programming - the VOA and RFA broadcast on simultaneous frequencies. The total cost of transmission in Cantonese, Mandarin, Tibetan and Uighur: $9.5 million. Engineers estimate they could save U.S. taxpayers half that amount if the Chinese let our broadcasts air without interference. Ironically, jamming appears to have increased in recent years, particularly in places like Tibet. And while China jams VOA and RFA, the United States allows China's government television, CCTV, on many cable systems across the country. And China Radio International, China's government radio, broadcasts unjammed on shortwave and on a number of affiliated AM and FM radio stations in the United States. What's fair about that? As has been widely reported, the Chinese government is determined to censor the fast-growing Internet by blocking a number of sites, including those of VOA and RFA. The popular search engine, Google, was blocked for a time earlier this month because it didn't weed out "subversive material." E-mails are also blocked. Moreover, the United States should demand reciprocity on numbers of journalists. VOA has two full-time journalists based in China, but it's been unable to secure visas for two more. RFA has no fulltime, China-based staff members. On the other hand, China has at least 40 government-employed journalists in the United States. At the very least, we should not issue any more visas or renewals until numbers are equal or both sides are satisfied with the numbers. Does it matter to the United States if China restricts the information its citizens receive? Emphatically, yes. First, it's a matter of human rights. Every person deserves the right to obtain accurate news. Second, the Chinese people know woefully little about the United States. Surveys show a disturbing 68 percent of urban dwellers in China consider the United States their country's No. 1 enemy. Many Chinese believe that they understand the United States quite well from syndicated American sitcoms, movies and music videos. This often-distorted picture of life in the United States presents a major problem for the development of a healthy, long-term U.S.-Chinese relationship. Controls on outside media have allowed the Chinese government to manipulate the news and to block the United States from telling its side of the story, sometimes with adverse results. In April 2001, Chinese domestic media presented a one-sided version of what happened to the U.S. "spy plane" that was captured. Finding anyone in China who had heard the U.S. version was difficult. The bottom line: The United States, now engaged in a global war on terrorism, cannot afford to have 1.2 billion people, about 18 percent of the world's population, so ill-informed about our people, our culture, our democracy, our freedoms and our government policies. The Bush administration has put public diplomacy - winning hearts and minds - on the front burner. If we're to win those hearts and minds, we must tell our story accurately and fairly through U.S. international broadcasting. Media is a big part of the problem - in China and elsewhere around the world - and the U.S. government should have a strong media solution. --- Edward Kaufman is a senior lecturing fellow at Duke University's schools of law and business. (Washington Times [Moony] Oct 26 via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** CHINA [and non]. China 11100 kHz, continuous Chinese music. An old ham radio friend, Ralf Kloth DL4TA, I know him since 1973 !, asked me about the 11100 kHz frequency today. He heard the CHN T1 station today in the afternoon/night time span, for about 8 hours, and now at 1830 UT I checked the frequency too, is still on air, playing Chinese guitar music of the Jamming kind, or TEST new TX/antenna installations type, continuously over and over again. Checked it against the other RFA frequencies containing jamming music, but the 11100 music was totally different. I guess the Chinese test new transmitters again? 11100 T1 B1l 50 162 4/3 44SE 0100-0630 ||| 11000 T2 B1n 50 170 4/2 44SE 0000-0100 0400-1300. B Beijing (3 sites). (wb, Oct 21) 11100 is quite fair here near Toronto at 2030Z right now. As you note it is not \\ to the 15515 "Mandarin Jammer" which has been joined recently by 11785 in \\ from *1900- . This latter channel totally trashes a much weaker Voice of Indonesia that seems parked afternoons here most days on its usual frequency of about 11784.86 to Europe - 2100*. VOI seems to have vacated 15150v for the season, but I have not heard it on the Europe-reported 9525 yet. 11785 and 15515 have a much stronger drum component than 11100 during the little time I have listened to it. As a jammer, I must confess, I find it almost as effective as the Diesel engines the Russians used to use. (G) Now if they would only play the beautiful music of the Banda Sea region for us (Tony VE3NO, BC-DX Oct 21) 11100 ist eindeutig ein Sender aus China. Diese Art Musik setzt man a) fuer Jammingzwecke gegen VoA, RFA, BBC, R Japan, religioese Sender in Chinesisch, usw. ein, meist drei Sender auf einer Frequenz auf einmal, wobei meist zwei Sender Musik dieser Art bringen, ein dritter aber ganz andere Musikstuecke, das ergibt dann einen schoenen Musikbrei. Frueher wurde auch mit 'weissem Rauschen' gejammt, gibt es aber heute nicht mehr. b) fuer Testzwecke sehr oft in den letzten 24 Monaten beobachtet, um neue Sender/Antenneninstallationen zu testen. Letzteres trifft hier bestimmt zu. 11100 ist eine uebliche China Frequenz in Richtung Taiwan, Progr T1, um 0055-0615 UT im Einsatz. China hat in den letzten vier Jahren in F (Thomcast) und USA (Continental/Harris) diverse MW und KW Sender in Groessenordnung 100, 400, 600, und 800 kW gekauft. D.h. ohne Embargo liefern die Amis ihre eigenen 'Stoer'sender nach China, um dann im Gegenzug gejammt zu werden (wb df5sx Oct 21; all: BC-DX Oct 26 via DXLD) ** CHINA. The annual Beijing International Festival is currently under way, bringing together world-class musicians from home and abroad and offering a musical extravaganza for audiences in our nation's capital. The festival will be the focus of the October 27 [UTC] "In the Spotlight". (—Jim CRI Shortwave Oct 26, swprograms via DXLD) ** CYPRUS [Turkish North]. Gestern habe ich die Frequenz 6150 kHz beobachtet, dort wurde neulich in Finnland eine UNID Station gehoert, die vermutlich R Bayrak war. Die Frequenz war bis 2128 und ab 2130 UT von China/Issoudun-F relay belegt, in den 2 Minuten Pause war englische Popmusik zu hoeren, das Signal etwas uebermoduliert: So wie man es von R Bayrak kennt. Von 2159 bis 2215 UT war die Frequenz wieder frei (naja "frei" ist ein Euphemismus, aber es liess sich was hoeren). Non-stop US-Pops, einmal eine kurze englische Ansage. Durch die verschrappelte Modulation nicht wirklich verstaendlich. Die Webseite von R Bayrak listet 6150 kHz als "inactive", aber das muss ja nicht der aktuelle Status sein. (Martin Elbe-D, A-DX Oct 23, via BC-DX via DXLD) Auch Singapur wie zu 1500? Möglich propagazionweise (gh, DXLD) Received the new Passport on Thursday and while trying to hear Radio Bayrak on 6150 today I opened the book to find that Passport has them listed on 6160. A mistake? (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, Oct 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. HCJB WORLD RADIO B01 BROADCAST SCHEDULE (28 October 2001 - 30 March 2002; Revised 27 September 2001) {Oops: this was a year old, so removed; see 2-167...} ** EGYPT. Estimado Glen[n] Hauser, paso a detallar algunas escuchas que he logrado aquí en Montevideo: Radio El Ciaro en español cambia sus viejas frecuencias en español (11715, 9740 y 9475 khz), a las 0.45 UTC pasan a los 11680 khz, actualmente utilizada por Radio Exterior de España, y 11790 khz, con fuerte interfernecia de Radio Guaiba de Porto Alegre en 11785 Khz. Supuestamente estos cambios de frecuencias eran por las fuertes interferencias, malas noticias creo que los cambios fueron para peor. Si es posible busco información sobre algún correo electrónico donde pueda contactar a Radio El Cairo. Atte. (Manrique Beceiro, Uruguay, Oct 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FINLAND. Managed to monitor the final English broadcast from YLE R. Finland, Oct 26 at 1230 on 15400. At first it was barely propagating, but fortunately built up fairly rapidly, altho always with a very heavy flutter, and 17670 never made it. This one featured Sibelius` Andante Festivo, which they said was recorded in 1939. Despite its shortwavity, the quality was so good that I had a hard time believing the recording was that old. Most of the rest was about Christmas and New Year`s as celebrated in Finland, and the close association between church (Lutheran) and state. Just as Elizabeth Boulton had introduced the Finnish National Anthem to top it all off, the transmitter cut off, as it always does, whether programming is finished or not, promptly at 1258 so we never heard the anthem. At least we shall no longer be faced by such frustration as Finland sinks back into anonymity as far as the English speaking world is concerned (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Today Radio Finland's last English program had some excerpts of past holiday programs, one narrated by Eddy Hawkins about Christmas Eve happenings in Finland, another with New Year's Eve at a local church, probably from the early 80's. Opened with a recording of the first English program from 1939. The finale was the Finnish national anthem but of course that was cut off at 1258. 17670 was good here, not so for 15400 which was poor for the 1230 final release. It's a pity this final program could not be heard on the Internet. My listening to YLE goes back to the days of "Northern Report" and the "Air Mail" listener-response program in the early 80's, when North Americans used to have as many as four opportunities to hear Finland in the morning hours. Now, YLE no longer feels a need to reach us anymore, as finances and priority to reaching expatriates abroad have led to the end of an era for English speaking listeners, along with broadcasts in German and French (Joe Hanlon in Philadelphia, Oct 26, swprograms via DXLD) ** GERMANY [non]. Glenn, I just heard DW on a strange frequency 6225 with very powerful strength S9 +20 dB. Programming was in Arabic with language lessons in German. Positive ID and news in Arabic 21 UT. No co-channel or adjacent QRM. Who knows more about this?! Not to used to be hear stations like DW on these frequencies outside of proper SW bands. BTW, what is is the 49 meter band nowadays?! 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND Oct 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The answer: ARABIC 2000 2130 6225 KRASNODAR 500 188 ME (DW A-02 schedule via DXA via DXLD) Have they not been there all season? (gh) Hi Glenn, Really, this was the first time ever I heard this DW relay from Krasnodar. This doesn´t mean they have not been there. As I earlier told you, I´m a very casual DX-er. Not surfing on SW every day. Happy week-end and 73! (Jouko Turku, FINLAND, ibid.) ** GERMANY. A digital sounding noise was noted on 1485 kHz yesterday evening from tune-in around 1900 UT from an easterly direction (thanks to Chris McWhinnie for the tip). It would appear to be from SWF in Germany. I found this recent report in BC-DX, translated from the original German with the help of Google: DRM - Kaiserslautern, which was in former times important for the Sudwestfunk, will become important [again] for the SWR when it starts digital medium wave transmissions. SWR has a transmission licence for digital test broadcasts on 1485 kHz. The125 m high latice transmission mast near the A6 motorway is expected to be installed in 4 weeks... Dependent on the results of measurements (spectrum, etc.) a transmitter power output from 300 to 400 W is planned. It is not yet known what programme will be radiated. For those who understand German, this is the original report in full: DRM - Kaiserslautern, das frueher fuer den SWF von Bedeutung war, wird fuer den SWR beim Start zu digitalen Mittelwellensendungen von Bedeutung werden.Der SWR ist im Besitz einer Sendelizenz fuer digitale Testsendungen auf 1485 kHz. Die Sendeantenne am 125 m hohen Gittermast unweit der Autobahn A 6 soll voraussichtlich in 4 Wochen montiert werden. Derzeit ist man damit beschaeftigt, einen Halbleiter-Sender umzuruesten und digital-tauglich zu machen. Abhaengig von den zu erzielenden Messergebnissen (Spektrum, etc.) ist mit einer mittleren Sender-Ausgangsleistung von 300 bis 400 W zu rechnen. Welches Programm abgestrahlt werden soll, steht momentan noch nicht fest; moeglicherweise sind es auch Aufzeichnungen. Der SWR wird den Start der Versuchssendungen entsprechend bekanntgeben (Guenter Haug, SWR, 2.10.2002 via Bernhard Weiskopf-D, ntt via Dave Kenny, BDXC-UK Oct 25 via Noel Green, DXLD) Once again: Irregular DRM tests on 1485 currently takes place at Berlin through a single frequency network of three transmitters (Frohnau, Schäferberg, Rüdersdorf). The signal is not audible here via groundwave (Berlin is 120 km away). Right now at 1915 a skywave signal could be there, but it could also be local noise what I hear, hard to tell. By the way, the mentioned mast near Kaiserslautern already exists. This is an old mediumwave site, once with 1.5 kW on 827 (the original item does not state that this low power station was important). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. A recent item (which actually must be labelled "all sic") stated that Deutsche Welle would move to a building at Bonn which once housed the federal government. That's not really true; the old Bundeskanzleramt is still an external office location of the new headquarters at Berlin. The so-called Schürmannbau (called after the architects) was once meant to become an office building for the members of the federal parliament. In 1993 the shell was severely damaged by a flood of the Rhine river, and the disaster continued after this expensive accident; the completion of the building was planned for late 1999, now 2002 is almost over and Deutsche Welle still broadcasts from the asbestos-contaminated old building at Cologne (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. See CHINA ** JORDAN. [Note: I think he means to say 11690 as in his Subject:] Radio Jordan is back on 11970 at 1700-1730 with a program called Jordan Weekly heard today. This is probably a Saturday only show. The signal was big and the audio was very good and one of the two RTTY stations that normally cover this frequency was not there today. I configured my radio (R-388) for LSB, ECSS reception and then used the crystal filter to notch out the RTTY signal on the high side of 11970. I got into the program at the end so I missed what they might be saying about Israel/Palestine situation but I will make a point to listen again next Saturday if possible. The new Passport has dropped this station from the blue pages on this transmission but there is a mention of the transmission in the 17:00 listings in the time sorted narrative on page 256 (Joe Buch, DE, swprograms via DXLD) ** MOROCCO. The Medi-1 website has this information: http://www.medi1.com/medi1/diffusion.php (this link has the below information and a variety of pictures, that show in a pop-up window if you click the thumbnails) Les émetteurs Ondes Longues et Ondes Courtes sont installés à 18 kilometres de Nador au Maroc, sur un terrain de 250 ha. L'émetteur Ondes Longues a une puissance de 2000 kW et une portée de 3000 kms. L'émetteur Ondes Courtes, dirige vers l'Afrique de l'Ouest a une puissance de 250 kW. MEDI 1 a sa propre montée numérique en direction du satellite Eutelsat 10 degr Est. It says that the SW transmitter is beamed to West Africa. This probably means southern Morocco and Algeria, Mauritania and similar Arabic speaking areas that are out of reach for LW 171 kHz. I also have older web information that says southwest Africa (Olle Alm, Sweden, BC-DX Oct 24 via DXLD) I thought, Medi # 1 would change to 9595 kHz permanently from Sunday in B-02 season, but couldn't find any entry in the 'RTM MRC' schedule. Only the RTM Rabat entry for 15340/15345 kHz via Nador site noted as usual. kW deg ant 5980 0000-0500 28S,38,39 TAN 250 83 227 MRC 5980 2200-2400 27,28 TAN 250 10 227 MRC 7135 2200-2400 27,28 TAN 250 27 227 MRC 7185 0000-0500 28S,38,39 TAN 250 67 227 MRC 15280 1100-1500 27SE,28N,28SW TAN 250 10 227 MRC 15335 1100-1500 27SE,28N,28SW TAN 250 27 227 MRC 15340 0900-1500 28S,37E,38 NAD 250 110 151 MRC 15345 1500-2200 38,39,47,48 NAD 250 110 151 MRC 17595 1400-1700 27,28 TAN 250 10 902 MRC 17815 1700-1900 27,28 TAN 250 10 902 MRC Last two days was out (Karl Leite-Brazil, Cumbre Oct 24, via BC-DX...) Medi #1. I cannot recollect ever having seen a registration for Medi #1 anywhere - I seem to remember that the first we knew about it being from Nador was when someone put a schedule on the Internet a couple of years or so ago. There had been some question about where 9575 was coming from after the Tangiers station went off air. Then it was found that Nador was the site of 2 x 250 kW transmitters - the other being used by RTM (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Oct 24 via DXLD) Yes, totally correct. Such a frequency move of Medi #1 has never happened before. And - I guess - there is a strange coincidence with the A-02 / B-02 change date coming Sunday !?? 9575 kHz, always the azimuth of 110 degrees towards C&S Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Sudan. Same azimuth mentioned for the RTM Nador outlet of 15340/15345 kHz, 28S, 37E, 38, 39, 47, 48. 27 UK, France, Benelux 28 Central & Eastern EUR, not Baltics 37 Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia 38 Libya, Egypt 39 Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Arabian Peninsula. 47 Central Africa 48 East Africa (Wolfgang Bueschel, Oct 24, BC-DX via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [and non]. B02 Schedule: R. Netherlands Sked effective 27 October 2002 - 30 March 2003 Language UTC Target kHz Site Dutch 0130-0225 N Am e/C Am 6020 Sackville 0130-0225 S America s 15315 Bonaire 0330-0425 East Africa 9860 Madagascar 0330-0425 ME/NE Africa 15560 Madagascar 0330-0425 N America c 6165 Bonaire 0330-0425 N America w 9590 Bonaire 0600-0657 C & S Europe 7125 Flevo 0600-0657 C & W Europe 1512 Wolvertem 0600-0657 S Europe 6015 Flevo 0600-0900 SE Europe 9895 Flevo 0600-1800 W Europe 5955 Flevo 0659-0900 S Europe 11935 Flevo 0659-1800 SW Europe 9895 Flevo 0700-0800 NZ/Australia 9625 Bonaire 0700-0800 NZ/Australia 11655 Bonaire 0930-1015 (Mon-Sat) Surinam 6020 Bonaire 1030-1125 East Asia 13820 Khabarovsk 1030-1125 NZ/Australia 9885 Bonaire 1030-1125 SE Asia 21480 Madagascar 1030-1125 W Australia 17580 Madagascar 1100-1300 S Europe 13700 Flevo 1330-1425 E & SE Asia 9885 Khabarovsk 1330-1425 FE/E & SE Asia 7375 Petro. Kamchatski 1330-1425 S Asia/W Aus/ME 13700 Flevo 1330-1425 SE Asia/W Australia 12070 Tashkent 1330-1425 South Asia 17580 Madagascar 1330-1425 South Asia 21480 Madagascar 1600-1800 S Europe / 13700 Flevo 1600-1800 SE Europe/ME 9895 Flevo 1630-1725 East Africa 11655 Madagascar 1630-1725 South Africa 6020 Madagascar 1830-1925 ME / E Africa 11695 Flevo 1830-1925 N & W Africa 13765 Flevo 1830-1925 West Africa 21590 Bonaire 2030-2125 C & W Africa 21590 Bonaire 2030-2125 C & W Africa 11655 Madagascar 2030-2125 C + W Europe 5835 Moscow 2030-2125 NW Africa 9895 Flevo 2030-2125 SE Europe 9895 Flevo 2030-2125 South Africa 6020 Madagascar 2030-2125 Spain/Portugal 6015 Flevo 2030-2125 West Africa 15315 Bonaire 2030-2125 West Africa 17605 Bonaire 2130-2225 N America e 13700 Bonaire 2130-2225 N America e 9895 Flevo 2130-2225 S America n / Caribbean 11730 Flevo 2130-2225 S America w 15315 Bonaire 2130-2225 Surinam 6020 Bonaire 2130-2230 W Eu DRM Test 11750 Bonaire 2330-0025 E Asia 9590 Madagascar 2330-0025 FE/E Asia 17570 Khabarovsk 2330-0025 SE Asia 7280 Singapore 2330-0025 SE Asia 15565 Madagascar English 0430-0530 N America w 6165 Bonaire 0430-0530 N America w 9590 Bonaire 0930-1125 Far East + E Asia + Aust 12065 Irkutsk 0930-1125 FE & E Asia 7260 Petro.Kamchatski 0930-1125 NZ/Australia 9790 Bonaire 1130-1325 C & W Europe 6045 Juelich 1130-1325 N America e 5965 Sackville 1130-1325 W Europe 9860 Juelich 1430-1625 N America w 15220 Sackville 1430-1625 South Asia 12080 Madagascar 1430-1625 South Asia 15595 Madagascar 1430-1625 South Asia 12070 Tashkent 1730-2025 East Africa 11655 Madagascar 1730-2025 South Africa 6020 Madagascar 1830-2025 West Africa 13700 Flevo 1830-2025 West Africa 9895 Flevo 1830-2025 West Africa 17605 Bonaire 2130-2330 C + W Europe 1512 Wolvertem 2330-0125 N America c 6165 Bonaire 2330-0125 N America e 9845 Bonaire Indonesian 1130-1325 Indonesia 17580 Madagascar 1130-1325 Indonesia 21480 Madagascar 1130-1325 Indonesia 11690 Singapore 2130-2325 Indonesia 7285 Madagascar 2130-2325 Indonesia 9590 Madagascar 2130-2325 Indonesia 6120 Singapore Spanish 0130-0325 C America 6165 Bonaire 0130-0325 Mex/Caribbean 9845 Bonaire 1100-1125 S America 15450 Bonaire 1130-1157 S America nw 6165 Bonaire 1130-1157 S America nw 9715 Bonaire 1200-1225 C America 9715 Bonaire 1200-1225 C America/Caribbean 6165 Bonaire 2230-0125 S America n/ Caribbean 9895 Flevo 2230-0125 S America s 15315 Bonaire 2230-2325 S America n 11730 Bonaire AWR 0230-0330 Madagascar 3215 Madagascar 1530-1628 East Africa 3215 Madagascar Dem. V. of Burma 1429-1526 SE Asia 17495 Madagascar 2330-0030 SE Asia 11715 Madagascar DRM Test 0900-1000 W Europe 11660 Bonaire DW English 0300-0345 N America w 11985 Bonaire 0500-0545 N America w 11795 Bonaire 0857-0945 South Africa 17860 Madagascar IBC Tamil 1228-1325 South Asia 17525 Madagascar RCI 2000-2059 NW & W Africa 11725 Flevo 2200-2259 NW & W Africa 9805 Flevo RVI 0400-0456 N America w 11985 Bonaire 1857-2000 S Africa 13720 Madagascar 2227-2326 N America e 13700 Bonaire V of Hope 0430-0500 (Sat-Tues) East Africa 12060 Madagascar 0430-0500 (Sat-Tues) East Africa 15320 Madagascar V of the People 0330-0430 SE Africa (Zimbabwe) 7120 Madagascar 1630-1755 SE Africa (Zimbabwe) 7120 Madagascar (F.Pl. start tba) (Sked from RN website, converted to text format by Alan Roe, DXLD; English portion also via Bob Thomas, CT) ** NICARAGUA. TURMOIL IN MANAGUA: STATE AGAINST CHURCH, AND A CHURCH-OWNED STATION IN THE MIDDLE OF IT Managua, Nicaragua, is a wonderful spot; There`s coffee and bananas and the temperature`s hot.`` --1947 hit, ``Managua Nicaragua,`` by Kay Kyser and His College of Music Knowledge. Managua, Oct 26 (CRU) -- The battle has been pitched and still continues, but so far, it looks like the State has won in a battle of a reform administration against the Archdiocese of Managua and the former president of the republic, Señor Arnoldo Alemán. At the center of the storm is the revocation of the license of radio station YN-- Radio La Poderosa 560 AM. The station belongs to the Archdiocese of Managua, in particular to COPROSA, a charitable suborganization in the Archdiocese. But the Church has not been operating the station; instead, for reasons not determinable by CRU, the Archdiocese had turned the station over to Señor Alemán, against whom serious accusations of big-time corruption have been made. Ex-president Alemán has used the Radio La Poderosa, still owned by the Archdiocese, to wage a relentless war against his critics and the president administration of Señor Enrique Bolaños. Señor Alemán, who is president of the legislature, the National Assembly, enjoys immunity because of his office, but the Bolaños administration has asked the Assembly to lift that immunity so that it can juridically process charges of wholesale corruption again Señor Alemán. According to internationally respected and award-winning reporter Andrés Oppenheimer of the Miami El Nuevo Herald, Señor Alemán has raided the national treasury for $124 million. By Latin American standards, where administrations have seen the national treasuries as part of their personal bank accounts, $124 million is not much, Mr. Oppenheimer reports. But Nicaragua is one of the most desperately poor countries of Latin America, in fact the third most poor, after Haiti and Honduras. ``According to justice department investigators, Alemán used state funds to live as a pasha during his government from 1997 to 2002. The procurator general, Francisco Fiallos and his assistants, have told me in telephone interviews from Managua that they have uncovered up to $124 million in illegal transactions, which they suspect wound up in the bank accounts or businesses of ex-president Alemán, his relatives and collaborators.`` On his part, ex-president Alemán has been using the church-owned Radio La Poderosa 560 AM (the station is new; it does not appear on the international AM frequency lists at the FCC website) to answer his critics and countercharge them. It is said that the national media have taken up the cause of the Bolaños administration in going after Alemán and his administration, said to be the most corrupt in Nicaraguan history. Exactly why Cardinal Archbishop of Managua, Miguel Obando [y] Bravo, and the Nicaraguan Church would side with Señor Alemán is not known up here. A reliable source in Central America says that the new administration is pronouncedly anticlerical, and the national media, as elsewhere in the world, has enjoyed making the Church a target day after day. In any event, the Nicaraguan government`s telecommunications agency, La Dirección de Telecomunicaciones, closed down Radio La Poderosa the week before last, citing two reasons: first, the station is licensed to COPROSA, which is not a legally erected organization and thus is not a legal person and has no legal standing, and is consequently unable to hold a broadcasting license. Second, the station`s tower was built in an area where it should not have been because of nearby residences. The station is said to have the best national coverage of any station and is apparently powerful. It should be noted, too, that the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua has long operated YNRC Radio Católica 720 AM, but that station is not in contest. An angry Cardinal Bravo has suspended the usual press conferences held after Sunday High Masses in the Cathedral, but his spokesman, Monseñor Eddy Montenegro Avendaño, vicar of communications of the archdiocese, did answer some reporters` questions at a recent conference, and Catholic Radio Update has the text of those responses from a source that wishes to remain anonymous. Attesting to the climate of fear that now pervades Nicaragua, Monseñor Montenegro said, ``The Church from time immemorial has send letters requesting help from people, laymen, State and private institutions for the diverse work that the Church does. But now it seems a sin when the Church asks for this type of help.`` He continued in answer to a second question: ``Many times we cannot be on the same wavelength of thought, each one has his own ideologies, ways of seeing things. It is difficult for you to get everyone to share an opinion, whether positive, negative, or general. I say that at times there occurs in some mass media words that injure the human rights of the other person, but you have to have respect for your adversary, and many times these mass media do not contribute to the unity that ought to exist among Nicaraguans. When all is said an done, we live in the same country. God has given us this same heaven and earth, and we have to try to find a point of equilibrium, I do not know how, but we have to look for it in order that we can have create jobs and we can impact those places where there is a lot of misery.`` The closing of Radio La Poderosa triggered large demonstrations and protest marches in Managua. In addition to Alemán supporters, a large group of mothers wearing mourning clothes marched through the streets in a mock funeral expression, saying that the closing of Radio La Poderosa was a blow to free speech and democracy. Even the Sandinistas, longtime foes of the Church and who gave YNRC Radio Católica endless hassles during their administration, protested the closing. The newsmen and station personnel, too, held a public demonstration, claiming that they were the hapless victims of the situation. La Señora Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, former publisher of Nicaragua`s internationally respected daily, La Prensa, and herself a former president and widely esteemed around the world, also deplored the situation as an attack on liberty of expression and voices of dissent. The Archdiocese agreed. ``The sad thing in these cases is that people, your colleagues, are left without work,`` Monseñor Montenegro told journalists. ``In every case, these things can be resolved politically many times; so much has been shown in the history of Nicaragua. Things in this country are resolved often at the level of political directors who are on the frontier of politics. The journalists here are paying for `the broken dishes`; in the history of Nicaragua, we have seen that when the mass media have been closed those who are left unprotected are journalists. The human aspect is difficult in this matter. It is to be lamented that some journalists remain without sustenance, and although the mass media may have their own line on all this, we are talking about men and women who have kids.`` ``COPROSA is a part of the pastoral work of the Church, just like the family apostolate, just like the apostolates to prisoners and the sick, and the proof is that there is Caritas of Nicaragua, which is the very same social work of the Church, not with the requisites that an ONG [nongovernmental, nonprofit organization] has, but that it is part of the Archdiocesan Church.`` Nicaragua`s history has been tortured. A Spanish province, it declared independence and joined Mexico briefly, then joined the United Provinces of Central America before becoming independent in 1836. The United States Marines occupied the country several times in its history, including as late as the 1930`s. General Anastasio Somoza was elected president in 1967, but became dictator, and civil war led by Marxist Sandinistas, arising from the utter poverty of the Indians and mestizos, broke out in the 1970`s and spread their influence and membership, and ultimately violence, to every sector of Nicaraguan society. Somoza fled in 1979, leaving the country to the Sandinistas who began to impose Marxism on Nicaragua, and severe repression of the Church began, even though not a few Catholic intellectuals --- lay, priests, religious, and bishops --- and particularly the liberation theology crowd, thought Sandinista Daniel Ortega and his administration to be the ultimate in social justice and the values of the Gospel. (Such an attitude is still widespread among a certain element in the American and Latin American Churches, particularly the aging baby-boomer clergy and religious.) In the 1990 elections, la Señora Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, whose husband was killed by a car bomb because of the implacable hostility of his La Prensa towards the Sandinistas, made a stunning upset over the Sandinistas and was elected president. The political polls had shown Señor Ortega and his Sandinistas as the overwhelming voters` choices, and they had the glowing endorsement of a not a few American and international Catholic and secular intellectuals and media types. What had happened was that the Nicaraguan people had tired of the Sandinistas, who brought murder and violence of their own species, and had decided secretly that they had had enough. On top of that, the people had deliberately misled the poll takers. American Catholic left-wingers were silenced, as were their Latin American and European counterparts. The mass media could not very well attack Señora Chamorro, for her own husband had died in the cause of freedom of the press. In the 1996 elections, the mayor of Managua, Señor Arnoldo Alemán Lacayo, center of this current storm, was elected. In this year`s elections, despite Señor Ortega`s protestations that he had seen the light and had become a follower of Christ, the voters refused him the office of president a third time, and elected Señor Enrique Bolaños as president. He replaced an administration widely reported as utterly corrupt. Exactly how the Church became involved in such mire, and why it would turn over one of its radio stations to so controversial a politician has not been explained, or if it has, I have not seen it. The Church, meanwhile, is expressing itself as champion of freedom of speech and democratic values. As Monseñor Montenegro said, ``Freedom of expression is very fragile in a country where democracy is in diapers. I think that the political administrators, because all this logically has a political tint to it --- in Nicaragua almost everything does --- will look for some way to solve the problem`` So far, that has not happened (Mike Dorner, Oct 28 Catholic Radio Update, Oct 26 via DXLD) ** OMAN. Glenn, re your comment: "We already had a report that Mashirah closed Oct. 7; didn`t you see it? ..." Perhaps that report of 7 October only referred to the HF senders closing on that date? 73s (Dave Kenny, Oct 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Evidently ** POLAND. I checked the Radio Polonia website for B02 schedules. At least the one for German is already available, it shows no obvious shortwave cuts: 1230-1255 on 6095 and 9525, 1630-1655 on single 7265, 2030-2055 on 6035 and 7145 (satellite-only transmissions omitted here). However, it is another issue how much of these frequencies will deliver usable reception; only the 1230 transmission is a safe case (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I haven`t downloaded the new Polonia frequency schedule, but this station is not very pleasant to listen to. The background rumbling noise is very bad and I find myself listening to that rather than the programme! I wonder how well their German service will be heard on 7265 - don't they know what else is on there? Best 73's (Noel Green, England, Oct 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Today at 1130 (will be 1230 from tomorrow) I gave Radio Polonia another try. Surprise, surprise, both 6095 and 9525 had only traces of the infamous growl, so it was indeed possible to listen to the program. Did the gentleman at the Leszczynka station finally bother about the problem they denied so far? Concerning 7265: Well, until today they used 6030 instead... Anyway during winter the Leszczynka signals skip over eastern Germany once it get dark. There was already a discussion why they do not use 75 metres; one guy claimed that Radio Polonia did so in the past so they must have 4 MHz antennas, but so far I have not seen a past schedule with 75 metres outlets which would confirm this. 1503 is really missed here! (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. MEDIA MINISTRY ANNULS REQUEST TO CLOSE ECHO OF MOSCOW WEB SITE Friday, Oct. 25, 2002, 10:56 PM Moscow Time The Media Ministry of Russia has withdrawn its request to the Communication Ministry of Russia to close access to the web site of the Echo of Moscow radio station due to changes in its content, Deputy Media Minister Mikhail Seslavinsky declared. He pointed out that interviews with terrorists who took hostages in Moscow had been deleted from the site. At the same time Seslavinsky underlined that publication of such materials was unacceptable, because it seriously violated the current legislation from http://www.moscowtimes.ru Sat Oct 26 2002 via Fred Waterer, DXLD) First impressions of crisis coverage: http://www.moscowtimes.ru/stories/2002/10/26/007.html MOSKOVIA CLOSED OVER CRISIS COVERAGE The Press Ministry ordered the second-tier Moskovia television station off the air Friday for its coverage of the hostage crisis and issued warnings to a number of other media outlets http://www.moscowtimes.ru/stories/2002/10/26/012.html (via Fred Waterer, DXLD) All the above before the siege on the theatre. It has been pointed out that Maryanne Kehoe was on one of her frequent visits to Moscow when this happened; we imagine she will have stories to tell, tho the chances are slim she was one of the three Americans in the theatre, all of whom reportedly survived (gh, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Once Voice of Russia director Armen Oganesyan said "we changed our view on the world much more than the world changed their view on us". Some recent comments on serious weaknesses of VoR confirm this statement. I am not familiar with the English service, so I have not really an idea who is actually on duty at VoR when the transmissions to North America go out (mind you, that's at dead of night in Moscow), but it is well possible that there are only the sound engineers who play the tapes, and of course they were unable to do anything until some editorial staff appeared at 7 PM or so. Regards, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Alexey Osipov, Russia, was informed by R Studio (a.k.a. R Gardarika) that the station is no longer available on SW. The rent of the 200 kW transmitter (lately on 7420 kHz) appeared to be too expensive. R Studio has a network of FM stations in the St. Petersburg region (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, BC-DX Oct 25 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [and non]. I don't know why, but assumed Yakutsk 7200 is audible now more or less every day c0645 at fair strength - increasing after 0700 - and then fading out. 7345 was much better today after CZE went off 0657+, but I still can't trace 7140. Magadan 7320 has gone down, and the two \\ 5940 and 9530 are difficult too. What I think is Pyongyang has appeared on 9650 in Japanese same time - I cannot trace 7580 though. And 9325 is again audible from 0700 in Ru, but not so strong as 15245. It seems all change again with conditions today - Magadan 7320 was a fluttery signal at S7 around 0640 - I could also hear 5940, but weaker, and 9530 under what I think is a Seoul relay. Yakutsk also up to 7+ with flutter, but 7345 only showing traces after CZE went off (Noel R. Green-UK, BC-DX Oct 23/24 via DXLD) ** ST. KITTS & NEVIS. ZIZ, 555 kHz, is typically the best of the remaining Caribbean splits here. ZIZ is usually heard with local news/talk, soca music, and BBC news. Listen to ZIZ on the Internet at http://www.zizonline.com (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, Oct 26, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. SHUNS GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF STATE BROADCASTER CAPE TOWN, Oct 23 (Reuters) - South Africa's parliament rejected government control of the national broadcaster on Wednesday, adopting a law confirming the independence of the television and radio stations that once underpinned apartheid. Legislators voted overwhelmingly for a watered down Broadcasting Amendment Bill that will bolster the public service arm of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and enhance the status of minority languages. Critics said original proposals would have removed editorial independence and made the SABC a mouthpiece of the ruling party, repeating the propaganda of the apartheid era, when hardline President P.W. Botha had a hotline to SABC newsrooms and used it to order changes or cuts in bulletins. Initial draft legislation had given Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri the final say on editorial policy. She told legislators on Wednesday the measure had been intended only to stimulate debate. Opposition Democratic Alliance communications spokeswoman Dene Smuts said the government had sought to manage the media in the face of popular criticism. She said the ruling party had backed down in the face of overwhelming opposition to its plans. Announcing her small party's continued opposition to the bill, she said: "I don't see why we should be so thrilled when we manage to defeat overtly unconstitutional measures like ministerial control of SABC policies." The new law will separate the commercial and public service arms of the SABC and clears the way for a fourth, state-funded SABC television channel specifically for the less known of South Africa's 11 official languages. After protests from civil rights groups, the SABC itself and the ruling party's labour party ally, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, a communications committee reinstated a key clause saying "(the SABC) enjoys freedom of expression and journalistic, creative and programming independence." 10/23/02 16:08 ET Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. (via Fred Waterer, DXLD) ** SPAIN. REE, Madrid, winter English, times assumed as not given: one hour at 2100 to Eu 9680, Af 9595; weekends one hour later at 2200; NAm on 6055 at 0000 (Bob Thomas, CT, Oct 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAJIKISTAN. 7245, R Tajikistan, surprised to find this one coming through nightly of late. So-so Oct 21, better Oct 22, poor Oct 23 & 24. On Oct 22 programming started at 0100 with tuning melody on marimba- or xylophone-type instrument for about 30 seconds, then nice ID as "Inja Dushanbe . . ," mention of "kiloHertz" noted, and into news program by M&W with occasional music bridges; heard a brief English recording of Kofi Annan during the news, and announcers mentioned him many times. Signal strength fairly decent Oct 22, but reception depends a lot on ARO level. First time I have heard this, and thanks to Vlad Titarev and Anatoly Klepov for having confirmed that it is still there at this time (Jerry Berg, MA, DXplorer Oct 25 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** U K [and non]. BBCWS On Air for Nov encloses a new frequencychart; for [non-North] Central America, Caribbean we notice the US relays go back to their winter pattern, 0100-0400 9525, 0400-0600 6135. Sites not given, but presumable WYFR and Delano respectively, usually providing the best evening signals available. Via Antigua: 1000-1400 6195, 1100-1700 15190, 2100-0500 5975. Also: 12095 2100-2400 Ascension, 0000-0300 UK direct. Strangely enough the 0000-0300 on 12095 for South America is shown as Ascension. Listen for an echo, unless this be a mistake (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. AS BBC FLOURISHES, U.K. IS SHAKING UP REST OF DIAL CHARLES GOLDSMITH, The Wall Street Journal Friday, October 25, 2002 ©2002 Associated Press (10-25) 06:32 PDT (AP) -- LONDON -- "Fimbles," the latest children's program from the British Broadcasting Corp., urges tots to "get that Fimbling Feeling" -- fingers twinkling and noses twitching in anticipation of a new discovery. The program, featuring colorfully striped characters like Fimbo and Baby Pom, is being heavily promoted on BBC channels in Britain and has already has been sold to broadcasters in Australia, South Africa and Canada. Now the noses of BBC executives are twitching in anticipation of another world-wide merchandising bonanza on the scale of their smash hit "Teletubbies," which has racked up retail sales of nearly $1.9 billion. It's the kind of marketing steamroller that no other broadcaster in Britain can match, sparking complaints that it's unfair to have to compete with a taxpayer-funded entity acting like a global media titan. That's one reason why America's media giants have received an odd invitation, one which would be unthinkable in most nations, where strict barriers to foreign investment in TV are the norm... http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/10/25/financial0932EDT0034.DTL&type=printable (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. VOICE OF AMERICA ENGLISH OCT. 27, 2002-MAR. 29, 2003 English to Europe, Middle East, and North Africa 0400-0500 7170 15205 0500-0530 792 7170 9700 11825 15205 0530-0600 7170 9700 11825 15205 0600-0630 792 1197 5995 7170 11825 11930 15205 0630-0700 792 5995 7170 11825 11930 15205 0700-1400 1197 1400-1500 1197 15205 1500-1600 1197 9575 15205 1600-1630 9575 15205 1630-1700 1197 9575 15205 1700-1800 6040 9760 15205 1800-1830 6040 9760 9885 1830-1900 1197 6040 9760 9885 1900-1930 1197 9690 9760 1900-2000* 5965 15205 1930-2000 9690 9760 2000-2030 1197 6095 9690 9760 2030-2100 6095 9690 9760 2100-2200 1197 6040 6095 9595 9760 English to Africa 0300-0330 909 1530 4960 6035 6080 7265 7290 7340 7415 9575 9885 0330-0400 909 1530 4960 6035 6080 7265 7290 7415 9575 9885 0400-0430 909 1530 4960 6080 7290 7415 9575 9775 9885 0430-0500 909 4960 6080 7290 7415 9575 9775 0500-0600 909 6035 6080 6105 7295 11835 13710 0600-0630 909 1530 6035 6080 6105 7295 11835 11995 13710 0630-0700$ 909 1530 6035 6080 6105 7295 11835 11995 13710 1600-1700 909 1530 6035 13710 15240 15485 17715 17895 1700-1730 909 13710 15240 15445 17895 1730-1800 13710 15240 15445 17895 1730-1800* 909 1800-1900 909 6035 11975 13710 15240 15580 17895 1900-2000 909 4950 6035 7415 11975 13710 15240 15580 17895 1900-2000* 13725 2000-2030 909 1530 4950 6035 7415 11855 11975 13710 15240 15580 17885 17895 2030-2100 909 1530 6035 7415 11975 13710 15240 15580 17885 17895 2030-2100$ 4950 2100-2200 909 1530 6035 7415 11975 13710 15240 15580 17895 2200-2230* 909 1530 6035 7415 11655 11975 13710 English to Caribbean and Latin America 0000-0100# 5995 6130 7405 9455 9775 11695 13790 0100-0130# 5995 6130 7405 9455 9775 13790 0130-0200# 5995 6130 9455 1000-1100 5745 7370 9590 English to Far East Asia, South Asia, and Oceania 0000-0030 1575 7215 9890 11760 15185 15290 17740 17820 0100-0300 7200 7255 9850 11705 11820 15250 15300 17740 17820 0800-1000 11995 13605 15150 1000-1100 5985 11720 15250 15455 1100-1130$ 1575 1100-1200 5985 6110 9645 9760 11705 11720 15250 15455 1200-1230 1143 6110 9645 9760 11705 11715 15250 15455 1230-1300 6110 9645 9760 11705 11715 15250 15455 1300-1400 6110 9645 9760 11705 15480 1400-1500 1143 6110 7125 9645 9760 11705 15395 15480 1500-1600 7125 9645 15395 1600-1700 1143 6110 7125 9645 9760 15395 1700-1800 6110 7125 9645 15395 1700-1800* 1143 1575 5990 6045 9525 9795 11955 12005 15255 1900-2000 9525 11870 15180 1900-2000* 9840 11720 11970 15410 2100-2200 9670 11870 15185 17735 17820 2200-2400 7215 9770 9890 11760 15185 15290 15305 17735 17820 2230-2400> 1575 English-Special 0030-0100 1575 7215 9890 11760 15185 15290 17740 17820 0130-0200# 7405 9775 13740 1500-1530 6110 9760 9795 11995 15460 1500-1530$ 1575 1530-1600 1575 6110 9760 9795 11995 15460 1600-1700 13600 15445 17640 1900-2000 9785 12015 13640 2300-2330 6180 7205 9780 11735 15135 2330-2400 6180 7130 7205 9620 9780 11735 11805 13640 15135 15205 Abbreviations: All programs/frequencies are on daily unless noted otherwise. [not all of which may apply to the English portion] & - Monday only * - Monday through Friday = - Monday through Saturday < - Tuesday through Friday / - Tuesday and Friday only # - Tuesday through Saturday % - Tuesday through Sunday ~ - Thursday only > - Friday and Saturday @ - Saturday only $ - Saturday and Sunday " - Sunday only + - Sunday and Monday ^ - Sunday through Thursday ! - Sunday through Friday (VOA website via Dan Sampson, Prime Time Shortwave, DXLD) ** U S A. Washington Post favorable review of a concert at the VOA auditorium, and lamenting that the concert series will end. The concert series was started by previous VOA director and music critic Robert Reilly. BRAZILIAN BACH, AND A LOST VOICE -- Friday, October 25, 2002; Page C03 It's hard to imagine J.S. Bach played with more seductive beauty than in the Brazilian Guitar Quartet's performance of selected movements from his Orchestral Suite No. 3 at the Voice of America on Wednesday. Playing directly over the sound holes of their instruments to produce the plummiest tone possible, the guitarists allowed Bach's contrapuntal writing to emerge with buoyancy and clear, structural logic, while bathing this rigorous German score in the warmest Brazilian sunshine. All of the quartet members possess formidable technique, but only Edelton Gloeden and Tadeu do Amaral play standard, six-string instruments. Everton Gloeden and Paul Galbraith use Galbraith- designed, vertically held, eight-string guitars. (Galbraith's own guitar is supported, cello-like, on a metal end pin, which rests on a wooden resonance box.) Those larger guitars, with their heartier sound and extended range, tended to dominate balances throughout -- especially when played with such virtuosic gusto -- while the six- strings handled the subtler inner voices. In a program that also featured transcriptions of music by Albéniz, Villa-Lobos and lesser-known Brazilian composers, the quartet's rhythmic verve and finely calibrated ensemble work paid repeated dividends. Ronaldo Miranda's "Variações Sérias" proved a warmly lyrical exercise in nostalgia, Francisco Mignone's "Lundu" an ear- teasing, infectious miniature. But there's a bittersweet note in all this: In another cultural blow to the District, VOA has decided to shut down this artistically distinguished lunchtime recital series as of December. -- Joe Banno © 2002 The Washington Post Company (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U S A. AIR FORCE ONE EQUIPMENT LACKING ON SEPT. 11, 2001 NEW YORK (Reuters) - While President Bush was on board Air Force One the day of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, he was unable to hold video conferences, monitor news coverage properly or receive key data from people on the ground, Business Week reported in its latest edition. The magazine said that as a result of communications inadequacies on the presidential plane, Bush ordered the equipment on the fleet of four presidential planes to be upgraded. "The president was not happy," Adm. James Ellis Jr., commander of the U.S. military's Strategic Command, was quoted as saying in the Nov. 4 issue. "He couldn't even watch CNN," Ellis added of the day Bush flew around the country for his safety after the attacks in New York and Washington. It was only when Bush landed at Offutt Air Force base in Nebraska that he was able to use Strat-Com's sophisticated equipment to assess the situation and give orders, the magazine said. Air Force Col. Robert Hudson was quoted as saying less than $50 million was made available after Sept. 11, 2001, to upgrade the presidential planes and two of them have already been completed. 10/25/02 12:50 ET (AOL Canada via Fred Waterer, DXLD) ** U S A. FEES FORCING COLLEGE RADIO STATIONS TO SCALE BACK WEBCASTS October 20, 2002 By JENNIFER MEDINA Playing alternative rock and urban folk music, the student-run radio station at the University of Wisconsin was broadcasting to fans from the far corners of the campus to the far corners of the earth. Although the station, WSUM, did not have a radio signal that went much beyond Madison, Wis., Internet broadcasting made it possible for the station to have listeners in the South Pacific. But that is over now. WSUM is one of about 70 college radio stations to pull the plug on Internet broadcasting in the last several months because of new copyright fees and reporting regulations required by the Library of Congress. "It just wasn't worth it," said Dave Black, WSUM's general manager and adviser. "Where are we supposed to get this money from?" Among the other places where stations have shut down or scaled back their Internet broadcasts are the University of California at Los Angeles, New York University, Houston Community College, Brandeis University and Oregon State. Colleges are now required to pay 2 cents for every 100 Internet listeners they have per song, with a minimum fee of $500 annually. (The station's Web sites can record data on the number of listeners.) This year, stations are also expected to pay fees retroactive to 1998, when the law was first approved. That means many schools will be expected to pay $2,500 to the copyright office tomorrow, when the payment is due. "For a lot of these stations, it could be devastating," said Will Robedee, vice president of Collegiate Broadcasters Inc. "There are constantly calls from stations deciding whether or not to continue their Webcast." The fees are part of an agreement between the copyright office and the Recording Industry Association of America, which says that the fees are needed to compensate musicians for their work. By contrast, radio stations that use the airwaves must pay a flat fee of about $600 a year to organizations that represent songwriters. "Webcasters have built businesses on the backs of performers and record companies," said Amanda Collins, a spokeswoman for the recording industry. "They're paying for everything else except for the key element - the music." Music industry officials tried to strike a last-minute deal to create flat fees for college stations, but the legislation stalled in the Senate. About 500 college radio stations broadcast programs over the Internet, usually in addition to their regular broadcasts, but many have moved to use the Internet exclusively as it has grown more difficult to get space on the airwaves. New regulations also require stations to keep detailed records of playlists and to submit records electronically. For stations that specialize in obscure or decades-old music, the system seems daunting. Most student disc jockeys choose songs on a whim, jotting down the information as they go along. The fees combined with the equipment needed to meet new reporting requirements could amount to one-quarter of a station's annual budget, radio station managers said. Stations that sell advertising would be required to pay even higher fees. The new requirements were announced in June, but many stations did not know about them until recent weeks. Some, such as California State University at Long Beach, are still unsure about the requirements and how they will affect their budget. "This is keeping us kind of meek and quiet," said John Trapper, the manager of the California State station, which has about 50 listeners at a time on the Internet. "We don't want to get too many listeners or we won't be able to afford to keep them." http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/20/education/20RADI.html?ex=1036150543&ei=1&en=5d03000dde665941 Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company (via DXLD) ** U S A. In many ways Art Bell is the spiritual godchild of Long John Nebel who had things like UFO's, and the occult and other oddball items mostly on WOR in the '50's and '60's and then on WNBC and later WMCA into the late '70's. One-time cover girl Candy Jones, Nebel's wife, who continued the show after Nebel's death, was allegedly the victim of a CIA mind control experiment. http://www.talkers.com/greatest/ http://www.talkers.com/greatest/17rNebel.htm No list of talk radio`s 25 greatest would be complete without the name Long John Nebel appearing on it. Younger broadcasters and fans of talk radio might think Art Bell was the first to explore UFOs and the like on late night talk radio. But - Orson Welles` radio play aside - it was Long John Nebel who delved into the possibility that we are being visited by aliens during many of his nightly broadcasts in New York (and up and down the East Coast) on WOR in the late 1950s and 1960s. Nebel wasn`t a believer or even open to the possibility of aliens. He was a self-proclaimed huckster through and through. He was a pitchman in his mid-forties when a WOR executive noticed him and thought his style would work well on the radio. It did. On his late night show Nebel would talk to people claiming to be from other planets, he would host roundtables featuring New Yorkers from all walks of life talking about everyday topics, he created characters he played himself, and he produced elaborate on-air put-ons. While Nebel pioneered these talk radio techniques, he knew exactly what he was. His authorized biography by Don Bain is titled, ``Radio Talk King, Master Salesman, Magnificent Charlatan`` (Joel Rubin, NY, Oct 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Joel: Living close enough to hear the NYC stations all my life, I remember Nebel well. It was a fun show to listen to. The difference between him and today's generation of radio hucksters (especially Limbaugh) is that he never took himself seriously. As you point out, he always knew who he was. An early interview with Limbaugh betrayed this same attitude, but it went off the rails somewhere when he began to believe his own b.s. (John Figliozzi, NY, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A. NEW TALK-RADIO STATION FOLDS AFTER THREE DAYS By Robert Philpot, Star-Telegram Staff Writer Posted on Fri, Oct. 25, 2002 In what may be the quickest shutdown ever of a format on Fort Worth- Dallas radio, female-oriented talk station KCAF/990 "Cafe 990" closed its doors Wednesday, two days after its Monday launch. Station executives cited financial difficulties. "I was instructed to hand out payroll checks on Monday," said Scott Savage, who was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Renaissance Radio, the station's parent company. "I was told the funding would be there. And then I was told that funding would not be there." Savage says Dave Schum, president of Renaissance Radio, had run into financial difficulties and asked Savage to find a buyer for the station. Savage pulled together a group on short notice, but Schum turned down the offer. "Our interim financing fell through about three weeks ago," Schum said. "We just never should have launched the station." Schum said he had to decline the group's "ridiculously low" offer. The station went on the air Monday with much fanfare, including about 60 billboards placed throughout Fort Worth-Dallas. It had an impressive talent lineup, including former KHKS/106.1 FM "KISS-FM" morning personality Gail Lightfoot, who has worked for several Fort Worth-Dallas stations; Lynne Haze, a former DJ for R&B station KRNB/105.7 FM; and Katie Pruett, who worked with Savage when he managed KYNG /105.3 FM "Young Country" and doubled as KCAF's program director. The low-power station, which has returned to airing the syndicated "Talk America" format, is barely audible in much of Tarrant County. But Pruett had told the Star-Telegram before its launch that the station planned a power increase to give it wider reach. Savage said he was devastated by the shutdown. He said he had brought in 25 to 30 employees from around the country to help launch the station. He had returned to the market from San Diego; Pruett had returned from Louisville, Ky. When asked whether he had any legal recourse, Savage said his main priority, instead, is helping the Cafe staff find jobs. "They are very talented people," he said. "They will all land on their feet. My goal is to make that happen as soon as possible." (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) 990 is one of the frequencies hijacked into The Metroplex a few years ago from Wichita Falls (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. WLW's studio-to-transmitter link is being heard here in Radway, Alberta on 26450 kHz in narrow FM almost daily. I'm glad my Kenwood TS440S has that mode. Many scanners now go down to 25 MHz so that's nice too. The lower limit used to be 30 MHz. Yours, (Bruce Atchison, Oct 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Doubt it`s an STL ** U S A. As far as finding out info on high school sports teams, I found a great website that fills the need for searching high school teams, http://www.ihigh.com You can search by state then by school. This helps only if you have an idea what state the game being held in and if you can catch a school name (Bob Carter, Operations/Engineering WGAI, NC, NRC-AM via DXLD) For the uninitiated, far too many local AM radio stations, even daytimers, illegally keep on the air with day facilities, mainly on Friday nights for such stupid ballgames (gh, DXLD) ** VIETNAM [and non]. Ian Morrison sent me this Voice of Vietnam schedule. VOICE OF VIETNAM ENGLISH PROGRAM FROM OCT. 27, 2002 TO MAR. 30, 2003 0100-0128 NA 6175 Sackville 0230-0258 NA 6175 Sackville 0330-0358 NA 6175 Sackville 1000-1028 As 9840, 12020 1100-1128 As 5955, 7145, 9730 1230-1258 As 9840, 12020 1330-1358 Eu 7145, 9730 1600-1628 Eu, As 7145, 9730 1630-1658 As 7145, 9730 1800-1828 Eu 5955, 7145, 9730 1900-1928 Eu 7145, 9730 2030-2058 Eu 7145, 9730 2330-2358 Eu 9840, 12020 (Ian Morrison via Dan Sampson, Prime Time Shortwave, http://www.triwest.net/~dsampson/shortwave/ via DX LISTENING DIGEST) So the Sackville relays continue after all (gh, DXLD) ** YUGOSLAVIA [non]. R. Yugoslavia B-02 0000 - 0030 SPANISH 1 S.AMERICA/w 9680 0030 - 0100 SERBIAN 1 (Except Sunday) N.AMERICA/ce EUROPE/w 7115 0100 - 0130 ENGLISH 1 (Except Sunday) N.AMERICA/ce EUROPE/w 7115 0030 - 0130 SERBIAN (spec.) (Sunday only) N.AMERICA/ce EUROPE/w 7115 0130 - 0200 SERBIAN (RTS) N.AMERICA/ce EUROPE/w 7115 0200 - 0230 ENGLISH 2 N.AMERICA/w EUROPE/w 7130 1330 - 1400 ENGLISH 3 (Except Saturday, Sunday) AUSTRALIA 11835 1400 - 1430 SERBIAN (RTS) AUSTRALIA 11835 1500 - 1530 SERBIAN 2 (Except Saturday, Sunday) AUSTRALIA 11835 1530 - 1600 ARABIC 1 ARABIA 11800 1600 - 1630 RUSSIAN 1 RUSSIA/Mos. 6100 1630 - 1645 HUNGARIAN 1 HUNGARY 6100 1645 - 1700 GREEK 1 GREES 6100 1700 - 1730 FRENCH 1 EUROPE/w 6100 1730 - 1800 GERMAN 1 EUROPE/w 6100 1800 - 1815 ALBANIAN 1 ALBANIA 6100 1815 - 1830 BULGARIAN 1 BULGARIA 6100 1830 - 1900 ITALIAN 1 EUROPE/w 6100 1900 - 1930 RUSSIAN 2 RUSSIA/Mos. 6100 1930 - 2000 ENGLISH 4 EUROPE/w 6100 2000 - 2030 SPANISH 2 SPAIN 7220 2030 - 2100 SERBIAN 3 (Except Saturday) EUROPE 6100 2100 - 2130 GERMAN 2 (Except Saturday) EUROPE/w 6100 2030 - 2130 SERBIAN (spec.) (Saturday only) EUROPE 6100 2130 - 2200 FRENCH 2 EUROPE 6100 2200 - 2230 ENGLISH 5 EUROPE 6100 2330 - 2400 CHINESE 1 CHINA 9580 (Radio Yugoslavia website via Dan Sampson, Prime Time Shortwave, DXLD) In our continuing campaign against clutter, metric equivalents removed +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PRIME TIME SHORTWAVE ++++++++++++++++++++ The first edition of the B-02 English shortwave schedules have been posted to the Prime Time Shortwave website, http://www.triwest.net/~dsampson/shortwave/ I have shortwave schedules sorted by time and by country. I also have list of English broadcasts sorted by frequency. Good listening, (Dan Sampson, DXLD) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ RADIO + LIGHT & SCIENCE, No. 13R New 96-page catalog of C. Crane Company has just been published, including an updated frequency list by gh on page 36. Not only SW radios, but accessories and related equipment, books. Cover price for catalog is $1.00. More info from 1-800-522-TUNE or fax 707-725-9060, or 1001 Main St, Fortuna CA 95540-2008 or http://www.ccrane.com or ccraneco@aol.com (Glenn Hauser, OK, Oct 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ Some minor M class flares early in the week and the solar wind speed was elevated due to probably coronal hole activity since Oct 24. This caused some elevation of the geomagnetic field and high latitude paths were somewhat degraded. Poor conditions may also be experienced Oct 29-30 and Nov 3-6 though no major flaring is forecast. Coronal hole activity remains a possibility however. Prepared using data from http://www.ips.gov.au (Richard Jary, Oct 26, Cumbre DX via DXLD) SOLAR LEVELS REPORT 021026 at 0900 UTC SOLAR FLUX LEVELS 174 was 160 :-) SUN SPOT AVERAGE 129:55 :-) A INDEX = 36 was 34 :-( INDEX = 5 was 3 :-(( GMF :- Active to Minor Storm Global HF Propagation Conditions Low Latitude: Normal, Mid Latitude: Fair, Hi Latitude: Fair-Poor Solar wind gusts have triggered auroras off and on since Oct. 23rd. There could be even more geomagnetic activity this weekend if a coronal mass ejection (CME) sweeps past our planet as expected. The CME billowed away from the Sun on Oct. 25th not long after a spectacular prominence erupted -- the movie on http://spaceweather.com is a must-see. Sky watchers should be alert for Northern Lights after nightfall on Saturday and Sunday (Many years on the SW bands From SE England, Karl Kruger 73's :-{) GRDXC Oct 26 via DXLD) ###